


Lake’s Tape (Post-Cannon/AU)

by TunaTrash



Category: Infinity Train, Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Inspired, Other, post-cannon, prompted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23285293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TunaTrash/pseuds/TunaTrash
Summary: While on the train, one of the porters managed to snatch Lake’s tape. One-One, not knowing what else to do with this new tape, casually gives it to Jesse. One-One’s time to explain the tape is cut short when the train starts malfunctioning. All One-One is able to tell Jesse is that it contains Lake’s, or MT at the time, memories.It’s now been a month since Jesse and Lake have escaped the train, and when curiosity finally gets the better of him, he takes a peek into Lake’s tape.
Relationships: Can be seen as romantic or platonic - Relationship, Jesse and Lake, Jesslake
Comments: 5
Kudos: 60





	Lake’s Tape (Post-Cannon/AU)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Lake’s Tape Concept](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/571144) by We’re Leaving Together, For Real This Time on Tumblr. 



> I know that the whole idea of how Jesse got this tape is really messy, but I couldn’t think of any other way he could have gotten it.
> 
> This fanfic was inspired by this post on Tumblr:  
>  https://jessmt.tumblr.com/post/190976607769/what-if-someway-somehow-im-not-sure-how-this#notes
> 
> I highly recommend you check it out! It’s a really amazing idea!

Jesse sat on the couch of his living room, looking at the black tape that rested in his hands. Jesse has been left home alone while his parents were out with Nate and Lake had wanted to have some time to herself wandering the town.

Leaving just Jesse and Lake’s tape at home.

While Sieve had been trying to kill Lake and while they had received their exits from One-One, Jesse had forgotten the tape until he found it a week or two ago. Jesse flipped over the tape and looked at the other side to find a white strip on it with the name ‘Mirror Tulip’.

Jesse frowned a little before getting an idea. He placed the tape on the kitchen counter before rummaging through a drawer that he and Nate were known for just tossing random school supplies in for the end of the year. Jesse grinned when he found a black marker. He picked up the tape once more before plopping down on the couch and scribbling our the name ‘Mirror Tulip’ and writing above it on the small space left on the white strip ‘Lake’.

Jesse smiled, satisfied with himself. His eyes slowly lifted to the old Cassette player his family occasionally watched old Disney movies on. He then looked back at the tape, another idea once more coming to him. If he hadn’t messed up the tape at this point, after being buried in his room for weeks and getting written on with sharpie, than maybe it would work in the Cassette player. He thought it would be a good test, especially considering that he had no idea if this tape would even work in a Cassette Player or if it needed some weird train stuff.

After a while of looking from the Cassette Player to the tape, now labeled ‘Lake’s Tape’, Jesse finally kneeled by the Cassette Player and popped the tape in. He was surprised when as soon as he put the tape in, the TV flashed to life. Jesse stood up and stumbled back in surprise, looking at the TV that was just full of static. As soon as Jesse did, he gasped in surprise when he suddenly felt like the static was swallowing him.

—

Jesse slowly opened his eyes and was surprised when he saw that he was no longer in his house, but instead in a messy bed room. He wrinkled his nose in confusion. Before he could figure out what was going on, he jumped in surprise when the door opened. He whirled around and saw a red headed girl that looked to be his age. She wore her hair up in a ponytail and glasses to help her see. Jesse’s eyes widened when he saw her face, this was Tulip, Lake’s prime. There was no denying it, she had the same face Lake did.

Tulip sat down on her bed, taking of her glasses and rubbing her eyes. Jesse noticed that Tulip’s reflection was visible in the black computer screen and noted that he would only see Tulip’s memories where her reflection could be seen, because those were the memories Lake shared with her. Jesse’s eyes widened in surprise when he heard the yelling and arguing coming from downstairs. He went to open the door to find out what it was, but found that his had just passed through the door, temporarily distorting the image. He paused for a moment before putting his whole head through the door, seeing two adults arguing at the bottom of the stairs.

Before he could react, static swallowed him up once more and Jesse found himself in a different room, it seemed like a small dinning room. There was a circular table in the center that Tulip was sitting at with two adults, the Jesse assumed were her parents. They were all eating dinner together, but Jesse was surprised at just how quiet it was. He was used to dinners being full of jokes and laughter, not complete silence with the occasional murmur to pass the salt.

Tulip quickly finished her meal before standing up, a part of Jesse thought that she could hardly stand the meal any better than he could. “I’m going to head up and work on my game-“ She said quickly as she put her dishes in the sink. Before her parents could respond, Tulip had already hurried upstairs.

Jesse was back in Tulip’s room, but it was noticeably darker, the only light coming from the screen Tulip was sitting at. He looked at the alarm clock that sat at the desk Tulip was working at and was surprised when he saw the red letters. ‘4:52 AM’. He looked back at Tulip, she looked tired, but happy and content with the code she was working on.

Jesse slowly looked at the mug on Tulip’s desk where her reflection could be seen. You wouldn’t even be able to tell that her reflection was a separate living being. Jesse continued to look at the reflection, slowly realizing how much more exhausted and miserable than Tulip. He realized that since these were Lake’s memories, he was able to actually see her in the reflection instead of just Tulip’s exact reflection.

Jesse has gotten used to the static that surrounded him on occasion, recognizing it as the tape skipping to a different memory. He was surprised though when he was in a large room made out of chrome. It took him a bit to notice Tulip. She was in the Mirror World. He slowly looked up to see that it was Lake standing in the Prime world.

Lake was standing at a car door, her long metal hair drifting behind her in the wind the train outside of the car was creating. She was wearing the same hoodie, pants, and boots Tulip was, but metal. She looked a lot more like her wanted poster, but with longer hair.

“Wait! You can’t leave me here!” Tulip yelled, at Lake, she was on all four in an attempt to get as close to Lake and the Prime World as possible. Lake only looked at Tulip once before looking back at the door, “If it means I can be free, then I’m doing it.”

Jesse was shocked. Lake had told him that Tulip helped her escape, not that Lake had left Tulip trapped in the Mirror World. No. This couldn’t be right. It couldn’t!

Lake took one step out of the Chrome Car.

She tried to take another.

It didn’t work.

The Chrome Car held onto the bottom of her shoe like glue, refusing to let go no matter how hard she pulled.

Lake’s expression quickly changed from shock to panic and she began to desperately try and pull her foot off, trying to get the Chrome Car to let go. She stumbled during her attempts and fell over. Every part of her was out of the Chrome Car except for the foot the car wouldn’t let go.

She tried to crawl froward with her arms while she was on the ground. Tears began to fill her eyes and when she managed to grab a small jellybean that a passenger had left on the path between train cars, she finally backed up and sat with her back to the open door. Lake held the jellybean in her palm as she held her knees to her chest, a slow realization coming over Jesse that at the time, that jellybean was Lake’s only connection to the Prime World other than being tied to Tulip as her reflection.

Tulip sat as close to Lake as she could while still being in the Mirror World by sitting in one of the 3D shapes protruding from the ground in the Chrome Car.

Tulip knocked on the glass, “Hey,” She said, “I can help you if you just talk to me.”

“That’s funny coming from you...”

Tulip reeled at the remark, “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I have to do everything you do, remember?” Lake said bitterly, “You’re always in your room ignoring everyone, you never ask for help.” She pointed out

“I’m not ignoring everyone!” Tulip snapped, trying to defend herself, “I can just take care of my own problems! It’s completely different!”

Lake turned to face Tulip better, “Skipping texts from McKayla!?” She said angrily, “Saying that you couldn’t hear Mom because ‘Sorry, I was to busy working on my game!’” Tears began to fill Lake’s eyes once more and she turned away, “Just go away Tulip! It’s what you do best!”

Silence fell between the two as Tulip sighed and pulled her legs to her chest.

Jesse watched this go down in silence, he could see from both their angles, but more so Lake’s since she had been trapped as a reflection for so long. He looked down at the ground, half expecting to see his reflection looking back at him in the chrome, but was surprised when he didn’t, having to remind himself that he was in the memory, so his reflection wouldn’t be scene because he wasn’t actually there.

Jesse lifted his head when he heard Tulip speak up again. “Okay...” She sighed, “You’re right. I don’t like asking for help when I have a problem... I guess I should...” She admitted before turning back to Lake. “But that just proves you should be talking to me!” Tulip pointed out before putting her hand on the chrome, “I don’t want those Mirror Police to hurt you...”

“Who cares what they do to me!” Lake said, her voice trembling with emotion, “I can’t step outside! There’s no reflective surfaces out there!” She paused, her voice growing quieter. “I don’t even have a name... I’m still nothing... Nothing at all...”

Jesse’s heart twisted as he watched his best friend. During his whole time knowing her, she had never gave up, even when it came to something that seemed impossible. She didn’t give up, and now she was free because of it. He wished so much that he could tell her that she was something and that now, she did have a name. It took time, and there were trials, but she was free now!

He was relieved when he heard Tulip do something similar since he knew that he couldn’t do anything.

“No!” Tulip said sternly, “You’re someone.” She paused for a moment, “I think I have a way for you to get a new mirror...”

Lake looked at Tulip for a moment before taking the idea into consideration. She looked at Tulip’s hand before placing her hand on it. The memory abruptly ended in static.

Jesse was taken aback at first by the static, that was the longest memory he had seen yet and he had grown used to just watching the memories and forgot that the tape hopped around.

Static filled Jesse’s mind once more and when it cleared, he found that he was in the Apex’s base. He watched as Lake, with Alan Dracula trailing behind her, entered a room that was lit with a purple light. Jesse quickly followed her and AD in.

Why had the tape skipped so far ahead?

Were Lake’s memories with him and Alan Dracula adventuring around the train before this just buried to deep in all of her other ones?

Had the tape just not been able to pick up on them because all of her worse memories more prominent than the happy ones Jesse and Lake had made together?

The thought hurt Jesse that Lake’s bad memories were outweighing the good ones.

Jesse took a quick look around the room, it was mostly empty except for a table at the far end Simon was sitting at with his back to them as he painted what looked to be a wooden toy. “Simon!” Lake confronted, storming towards him, “Do you have any idea what is going on in your car?!”

“Huh? You’re still here?” Simon said plainly without giving Lake a passing glance.

“You’re goonies were trying to saddle Alan Dracula!” Lake explained angrily, petting Alan Dracula’s face, “Shaking!”

“The deer? What?” Simon said

Lake snapped.

“Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you! What do you-“

Simon suddenly stood up, causing Lake to step back, “I’m talking now!”

Jesse couldn’t help but stumble back at Simon’s sudden change in tone. He seemed so much different now than when Jesse first met him, and even when he tried to stop him from getting to Lake when he got back.

“I’ve got a number you don’t, you two are only as good as you are useful.” Simon said, his voice sharp with hostility, “I thought we could at least get something from the deer, but it’s more hassle than it’s worth!” He said before leaning back a little. “We’re done with you.” Simon turned away to get back to painting, “Now get out of here before Jesse gets back. You can’t help him like we can.”

Jesse watched Simon turn around and sit back in his seat with nothing other than shock. Lake at said that some members of the Apex had been trying to saddle Alan Dracula like a horse. What other thing had the Apex done to Lake and Alan while he was off with Grace, with his number only going up.

His guilt only grew when he looked back over at Lake and realized that she was crying. Her whole body was stiff as she turned around and pet Alan Dracula a little, “C’mon Alan... Let’s go find Jesse and get out of here-“ She choked out as she began to walk out of the room. As soon as she passed through the doors, several Apex members immediately grabbed her and Alan Dracula.

“Lake!” Jesse couldn’t help but attempt to yell out a warning to her, but the memory was already gone as static replaced it. The static lasted just as long as it did with all the other memories, but now, it just seemed to take longer. When it finally cleared, he recognized the scene immediately and a part of him wished that he was back in the static.

“We did it we’re free!” Jesse heard himself say, it was honestly shaking at first to see himself run past with Lake in hand and Alan Dracula hurrying behind them. The memory of Jesse was grinning excitedly at Lake before beginning to pull her forward again. He quickly passed through the door, but Jesse couldn’t help but flinch when Lake ran into the invisible barrier.

“Huh?”

Lake took a step back and kicked the invisible barrier, causing the memory of Jesse to stumble and turn back, his hand still firmly grasping hers.

“What?” Lake said, growing panicked as she looked up from her foot and back to Jesse, who was growing equally panicked. Jesse watched as the memory of Lake desperately scrambled for the memory of Jesse, trying to hold on to him as he began to fade away.

“Jesse!” Lake said fearfully as she held his hand that remained outside of exit as close as she could. “No! No!No!No!”

Then he was pulled away and the exit shut.

“No...” Lake said weakly, her hands beginning to tremble as the last of the golden light from the exit disappeared. She fell onto her knees, all she was able to do was look at her hands where Jesse had just been and began to cry. “Jesse...”

Jesse just stood there, his fists clenched tightly as guilt caused his heart to ache once more as everything turned to static. He had promised that he would get her out, that they would stay together. Now he just rewatched it happen again and saw how much it had hurt Lake. Even though he knew that she was free now, that he had gone back for her in the end, but just the fact that he had been so quick to try and get out that he hadn’t even considered that the train might not let her get off.

When the static cleared, he was in a place that he didn’t not recognize, it didn’t even look vaguely familiar. He was in a red and brown wasteland, the dusty earth beneath his feet was cracked and it seemed to go on as far as the eye could see.

The only thing obstructing the view was the train.

Huge and infinite.

Jesse finally caught sight of Lake, she was getting up off the ground with one of the Mirror Police Agents, Mace. Jesse let out a gasped and stumbled back in horror when he realized what had happened. Lake was now off the train with Mace and Alan Dracula in a place called the Wasteland that Lake had told him that she had been in only once while attracted to Tulip.

A metal handcuff shined on Lake’s wrist, connecting her to Mace.

The worst part was Mace. He had been cut in half from the waist down by the train’s wheels. It would have been a much more graphic scene if he wasn’t from the Mirror World, but it was still shaking.

The image that it could have just as possibly happened to Lake caused Jesse to close his eyes tightly. In an attempt to forget that possibility, but he couldn’t shake it. He only opened his eyes once more when he heard Mace begin to talk, “That’s right. Back to the train. Back to train. Like a good girl.”

Lake was dragging Mace across the ground as she tried to get back to the train, Alan Dracula by her side. She stopped in her tracks and looked down at Mace angrily before sitting on the ground next to him and hitting the handcuff that connected the two with a rock.

Chills went down Jesse’s spine when Mace started to do what Jesse probably least expected.

He started to sing.

“I saw a train girl racing by, on exit day, on exit day. I saw a train girl racing by. She gave the boy an exit.” Jesse whole body was stiff and he looked at Lake who was doing her best to ignore the officer by hitting the handcuff with the rock. “One got left on the train that day, on exit day, on exit day. A lonely little sliver girl... On exit day in the morning!”

Jesse could only watch at this point as Mace tilted his head to face Lake. “Or afternoon maybe, there are a lot of clocks on the train...” He finished with a grin.

Lake hit the rock as hard as she could on the handcuff, only causing the rock to crack and crumble apart while the handcuffs remained unscratched. “Ugh!” Lake groaned in frustration as she clenched her fist that once held the rock. “Shut it skin suit!”

Mace only laughed in response, causing the hair on the back of Jesse’s neck to rise. “So...” Mace began, “What’s the plan now you’re boyfriend’s gone, little sliver girl?”

Jesse looked at Lake, expecting her to hit him or something, but she stayed quiet and stared at the ground for a moment before standing up. The grabbed Mace and hoisted him onto Alan Dracula’s back, leading him away from the train in silence.

Jesse’s mind felt fuzzy as he only half paid attention to Mace taunting Lake as they walked in the Wasteland. Lake hadn’t told him about any of the things that had happened while he was gone. She was getting called nothing over and over again while Jesse was just sitting outside with his younger brother, Nate, explaining what had happened in the past when he could be helping Lake with the present.

“I’m as good as dead!”

Mace’s yell brought Jesse’s attention back and he yelled in surprise when he realized where he was now. Lake was hanging off the side of the train with Mace holding onto her, meanwhile Jesse was floating in the air nearby. He forced himself to stop looking down and to instead look at Lake and Mace.

“If my final act is to bring you down with me Sliver, I can’t imagine a better way to go!”

Lake looked shocked at first before her face flashed with anger and determination, “Well I can!” She said before knocking Mace loose with her head, he was only holding on at this point due to the help of the handcuff. She quickly swung him under her feet before shoving him into the train wheel.

Mace cried out in pain and shock as the wheel began to grind him away, bit by bit.

Jesse was horrified and he wasn’t able to watch it much longer, he shut his eyes until he heard Mace’s cries finally disappear, seeming to have been blown away in the wind. When he opened his eyes again, Lake was climbing up the train the rest of the way until she got to the top. She seemed pretty shaken up at first until she managed to shake it away.

When static returned, Jesse just felt stunned. He didn’t blame her for killing Mace, but he was still shocked by it. If he was in Lake’s position, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to do it.

Jesse was now in a grey and black room with green lighting in it, immediately recognizing it as the Number Car where he had first woken up his second time on the train. He spotted Lake wadding through the water with an unconscious floating girl next to her. Jesse quickly trotted to catch up to her, walking by her side on the outside of the water. A slow realization came over him as he figured out that this must’ve been when Lake was trying to get her number.

Lake said something to the unconscious girl that Jesse didn’t quite catch before putting her hand under the laser that created the number and over the girl’s hand. Lake smiled, and realizing this was the first time Jesse had seen her smile in this whole tape, he couldn’t help but smile as well.

Until the laser passed through Lake’s hand like it was nothing.

Lake watched in horror as the girl was taken away in a pod before turning back to the machine that gave the numbers, “No! I’m here!” She said, her voice fearful as she grabbed the machine, trying to stop it from pulling away, “Give me a number!”

She looked around, expecting an answer before clenching her fists and climbing out of the water, “Listen to me!” She yelled at the Porters, “You don’t think I deserve a number, do you? We you gave a number to some kid who was sad about their dead lizard! How is that fair?!”

Jesse looked around at the Porters, they were looking right past Lake, either not acknowledging her or just not even seeing her as a whole as they made tapes and moved them around.

“What?” Lake turned to the closest Porter to her as it took out a tape, “Do I need a sad lizard story? Is that it?” Jesse looked at the Porter, half expecting it to do something, but jumped in surprise when it didn’t do anything and Lake instead grabbed it’s head.

“Look at me!” She shouted, her voice starting to break as she forced the Porter to look at her, “I am I person! I deserve a number!” Lake yelled at it until her grip grew tighter and tighter on it’s face, causing the glass to crack. She finally let out a shout and tears began too roll down her cheeks, shoving the Porter away from her that now lay limply on the ground.

Lake stumbled back a little, burying her face in her hands.

“Lake...” Jesse choked out, stepping a little closer to her.

Lake let out another shout and whirled away from Jesse, ripping a pipe out of the side of the room and beginning to hit the other Porters in the room, breaking them one by one as they dropped the tapes they were carrying, their glass faces cracking, and just falling a part as a whole.

Jesse flinched back ever time he heard the pipe hitting the Porter’s metal, wires, and glass until everything went quiet. Lake was now standing in the middle of the room with all of the Porters broken around her. Her face was still wet with tears as she panted before looking up at the machine that wrote the numbers on the passengers’ hands. She bared her teeth and readied to hit it.

Jesse squeezed his eyes shut when he heard the pipe hit the metal.

—

Jesse gasped and stumbled back, he was back in his house. The static on the screen in front of him shut off and Lake’s tape automatically ejected itself from the Cassette Player. He grunted and rubbed his eyes, pausing when he realized that they were wet.

He had been crying.

“Jesse?”

Lake’s voice caused Jesse to whirl around and face the door, he hadn’t noticed she’d come in.

“Lake-“ Jesse said, his voice trembling slightly as he began to comprehend everything he had just seen, how much Lake had been through.

The chrome girl began to take a couple of brisk steps towards Jesse before pausing when she saw the tape, carefully picking it up as her eyes flashed with recognition.

“Jesse...” Lake repeated his name, slowly looking at him, “Where- Where’d you get-“

He didn’t let her finish though as he suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace. Lake was stiff and startled at first, until slowly relaxing into it. Jesse held her there her a bit in silence until he finally managed to find the words to speak.

“I’m sorry- I’m so, so sorry I left you with the Apex and I’m so sorry that I left you on the Train. I just- I thought-“

Lake pulled away from him and put her hands on his shoulders, “Jesse! It’s okay! It was an accident you didn’t know-“

“B- But if I had stayed by your side- Simon- Mace-“

Slow realization came over Lake’s face when she realized just how much of her tape Jesse had seen. She felt tears begin to fill her eyes as full comprehension of what Jesse’s apology was about hit her.

The two of them had never really talked about what had happened during their forced separation. It had just been a sort of silent agreement between the two that, ‘Ya, okay, damn, that really sucked.’ but neither of them had either opened up or talked about it.

“It’s okay, Jesse...” Lake repeated quieter, “Don’t blame yourself.”

Jesse rubbed his face a little to get rid of the tears and simply because the tape and just all the emotions that came with it was just exhausting as a whole, “I just didn’t know everything you’d gone through ‘till now and a part of me just feels stupid that I even dragged you into my problems when you already had you’re own.”

Lake smiled a little, “Jesse, if anything I ended up dragging you into my problems, and plus, as your best friend it is my job to help you through your problems and you still helped me get through mine more than you know.”

Jesse stayed quiet for a moment before looking down at his feet, “There was a huge jump in the tape from after you escaped to when you were alone at the Apex base...” He explained before looking back up to her face, “The only time me and or AD were actually in your tape was when you were with Simon and when we were forced apart.”

“Ya...” Lake said slowly, realizing how down Jesse looked at the idea that her memories with him and Alan Dracula were so small and insignificant that the tape didn’t put them in, “When you go into someone else’s tape completely blind without a guild around the memories, the only show the bad memories, the reasons why they’re on the train.” She explained, “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget you.”

Jesse smiled a little, rubbing away the last of his tears until his face was dried.

Lake finally pulled all the way away from Jesse and looked at the tape in her hands. She grinned before turning it to face Jesse, “You wrote on it?” She asked with a smile.

Jesse laughed a little before nodding, “Ya, if I had the tape on me I didn’t think you’d want to be known ‘Mirror Tulip’ on it.”

Lake flicked him in the forehead, “Well that was a weird and stupid idea,” She teased before looking back at the tape, “But thanks, it was a nice thought.”

He smiled fondly at her, “No problem.”

**Author's Note:**

> Damn! This was a long one, but it was really fun to write! It was a good mix of more so original writing and rewriting some scenes from Jesse being a looker! It’s definitely not the best writing, but it was something fun to do in my spare time. Tell me if you have any ideas for any future works you’d like to see me do!


End file.
